1In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah, Hoshea the
son of Elah became king over Israel in Samaria, and reigned
nine years. 2He did evil in the sight of the LORD, only
not as the kings of Israel who were before him. 3Shalmaneser
king of Assyria came up against him, and Hoshea became his servant
and paid him tribute. 4But the king of Assyria found
conspiracy in Hoshea, who had sent messengers to So king of Egypt
and had offered no tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done
year by year; so the king of Assyria shut him up and bound him in
prison.

5Then the king of Assyria invaded the whole land and
went up to Samaria and besieged it three years.

Israel Captive

6In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria
captured Samaria and carried Israel away into exile to Assyria, and
settled them in Halah and Habor, on the river of Gozan, and
in the cities of the Medes.

Why Israel Fell

7Now this came about because the sons of Israel
had sinned against the LORD their God, who had brought them up from
the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and
they had feared other gods 8and walked in the customs of
the nations whom the LORD had driven out before the sons of Israel,
and in the customs of the kings of Israel which they had
introduced. 9The sons of Israel did things secretly which
were not right against the LORD their God. Moreover, they built for
themselves high places in all their towns, from watchtower to
fortified city. 10They set for themselves sacred
pillars and Asherim on every high hill and under every green tree,
11and there they burned incense on all the high places as
the nations did which the LORD had carried away to exile
before them; and they did evil things provoking the LORD. 12They
served idols, concerning which the LORD had said to them, "You shall
not do this thing." 13Yet the LORD warned Israel and
Judah through all His prophets and every seer, saying, "Turn
from your evil ways and keep My commandments, My statutes according
to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to
you through My servants the prophets." 14However, they
did not listen, but stiffened their neck like their fathers, who did
not believe in the LORD their God. 15They rejected His
statutes and His covenant which He made with their fathers and His
warnings with which He warned them. And they followed vanity and
became vain, and went after the nations which surrounded
them, concerning which the LORD had commanded them not to do like
them. 16They forsook all the commandments of the LORD
their God and made for themselves molten images, even two
calves, and made an Asherah and worshiped all the host of heaven and
served Baal. 17Then they made their sons and their
daughters pass through the fire, and practiced divination and
enchantments, and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the
LORD, provoking Him. 18So the LORD was very angry with
Israel and removed them from His sight; none was left except the
tribe of Judah.

19Also Judah did not keep the commandments of the LORD
their God, but walked in the customs which Israel had introduced.
20The LORD rejected all the descendants of Israel and
afflicted them and gave them into the hand of plunderers, until He
had cast them out of His sight.

21When He had torn Israel from the house of David,
they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king. Then Jeroboam drove Israel
away from following the LORD and made them commit a great sin.
22The sons of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which
he did; they did not depart from them 23until the LORD
removed Israel from His sight, as He spoke through all His servants
the prophets. So Israel was carried away into exile from their own
land to Assyria until this day.

Cities of Israel Filled with Strangers

24The king of Assyria brought men from Babylon
and from Cuthah and from Avva and from Hamath and Sepharvaim, and
settled them in the cities of Samaria in place of the sons of
Israel. So they possessed Samaria and lived in its cities. 25At
the beginning of their living there, they did not fear the LORD;
therefore the LORD sent lions among them which killed some of them.
26So they spoke to the king of Assyria, saying, "The
nations whom you have carried away into exile in the cities of
Samaria do not know the custom of the god of the land; so he has
sent lions among them, and behold, they kill them because they do
not know the custom of the god of the land."

27Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, "Take
there one of the priests whom you carried away into exile and let
him go and live there; and let him teach them the custom of the god
of the land." 28So one of the priests whom they had
carried away into exile from Samaria came and lived at Bethel, and
taught them how they should fear the LORD.

29But every nation still made gods of its own and put
them in the houses of the high places which the people of Samaria
had made, every nation in their cities in which they lived. 30The
men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, the men of Cuth made Nergal, the
men of Hamath made Ashima, 31and the Avvites made Nibhaz
and Tartak; and the Sepharvites burned their children in the fire to
Adrammelech and Anammelech the gods of Sepharvaim. 32They
also feared the LORD and appointed from among themselves priests of
the high places, who acted for them in the houses of the high
places. 33They feared the LORD and served their own gods
according to the custom of the nations from among whom they had been
carried away into exile.

34To this day they do according to the earlier
customs: they do not fear the LORD, nor do they follow their
statutes or their ordinances or the law, or the commandments which
the LORD commanded the sons of Jacob, whom He named Israel; 35with
whom the LORD made a covenant and commanded them, saying, "You shall
not fear other gods, nor bow down yourselves to them nor serve them
nor sacrifice to them. 36"But the LORD, who brought you
up from the land of Egypt with great power and with an outstretched
arm, Him you shall fear, and to Him you shall bow yourselves down,
and to Him you shall sacrifice. 37"The statutes and the
ordinances and the law and the commandment which He wrote for you,
you shall observe to do forever; and you shall not fear other gods.
38"The covenant that I have made with you, you shall not
forget, nor shall you fear other gods. 39"But the LORD
your God you shall fear; and He will deliver you from the hand of
all your enemies." 40However, they did not listen, but
they did according to their earlier custom. 41So while
these nations feared the LORD, they also served their idols; their
children likewise and their grandchildren, as their fathers did, so
they do to this day.

The Holy Bible, New American
Standard Version (c)1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1977,
1995 by the Lockman
Foundation, La Habra, CA. All rights reserved. Words
identified as being spoken by Jesus are in red.www.BibleABC.net